23rd Annual Conference Of WIMBIZ Themed: Dream. Dare. Do.

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KEYNOTE SPEECH DELIVERED BY HIS EXCELLENCY, PROF. YEMI OSINBAJO, SAN, GCON, IMMEDIATE PAST VICE PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA AT THE 23RD ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE WOMEN IN BUSINESS, MANAGEMENT AND PUBLIC SECTOR (WIMBIZ), THEMED: DREAM, DARE, DO, IN LAGOS ON THE 7TH OF NOVEMBER, 2024

PROTOCOLS

May I thank the Executive Team of Women in Business, Management and Public Sector, WIMBIZ, for the very kind invitation to make these remarks. And it is a distinct honour for me to join you all at this 23rd Annual Conference, which, if I may say so, is a celebration of not just longevity, but also resilience and relevance of the organization.

The theme of the conference: Dream, Dare, Do, is both perceptive and provocative. In my view, it throws up two different challenges; one to WIMBIZ as an organization and the other to individual members of the organization and indeed the rest of us.

Regarding the challenge to the organization, let me begin by saying that the founders of WIMBIZ deserve to be extremely proud of what the organization has become over the years. A strong, well-respected body of the business, professional and public service elite in our country. And many years of offering peer influence opportunities, sound, high-quality mentorship, and capacity-building programmes, especially for women in leadership roles.

Many years after its founding, seated in this room are possibly some of the most consequential human beings of Nigerian extraction, whether male or female. Persons who can reach practically anyone in this nation either individually or collectively, with one or two phone calls. And as an organization certainly capable of influencing political or economic outcomes if you put your mind to it.

Such is the power, the prestige and the reach of this organization, unassuming as it may appear. Indeed I am here because I was left with no choice. I got a few phone calls from some friends here, including my wife’s closest friend, and when I expressed a slight reluctance, my dear wife had that: “don’t even try” look on her face! So I simply knew that my life would not be worth much if I declined this invitation.

But quite seriously, there is much influence packed into this organization. But I make this point to buttress my respectful view that an elite organization such as yours bears the huge responsibility that comes with the privilege of belonging to the elite, especially in a society where a huge number are disadvantaged and voiceless.

As you know, an elite is defined by virtue of the position of influence, education, and professional or business success that the individual or group may have in contrast to the rest of the population. A society or nation rises or falls by the sense of responsibility of its elite (political, business and religious elite). And anywhere in the world, it is this class that determines the economic, moral and even political direction of their societies or nations.

What they hold dear is what society considers important, what they disavow is rejected by society, and they are the opinion moulders and shapers in society. What they prioritize becomes the priority even of governments, most of who come from the elite anyway.

Let me take a banal example, the question of airfares, local or international, is of importance to many of us in this room. The cost of school fees for children abroad, the cost of medicals abroad, now the cost of fueling more than one SUV,  and possibly also visas to Dubai. Now these are important to us, and in our interactions with those who can make a difference, these are some of the issues we raise and hope will be addressed but the other 99.9% of two hundred million of us are more concerned with matters of survival, cost of public transportation, food, basic healthcare, accommodation, access to justice.

My point is that the elite must be the interlocutors and mediators for these people. Alongside our own concerns, we must fight for social welfare schemes, healthcare schemes, food security issues, and school feeding programmes for children in public schools, because these are matters that politicians are required to address,  but often do not, and they do not have an elite to put them under pressure.

Your collective voice and action for the education of girls in the North carried to the Statehouses can affect the destiny of our nation. Today we have over 67% female illiteracy in the North. A country with half of its population socially and economically disempowered by illiteracy will find development difficult, if not intractable.

We are proud of the social causes you have championed, but much more needs to be done. We must find ways of making change at scale because of the enormity of the problems we face.

The second challenge that the theme throws up is the question of how to build businesses or organizations of any kind that survive and thrive. Indeed, the visioning, founding and continued growth of this organization exemplifies the theme of the conference: Dream, Dare, Do.

We are here today because some dreamt, some implemented the dream, but more importantly, kept it going year after year.  Some wise person said something to the effect that the best and most visionary ideas lie in cemeteries all over the world. So the chief problem is not a dream, there are many dreams and great visions, it is not even to start out the enterprise, to dare or do, the chief problem is staying power, the ability to see a matter through.

The attribute you need the most is not the will to start, it is the steadfastness to remain. It is not the capacity to dream, it is the courage to deal with the nightmares and still continue day after day. So the bottom line is resilience: the ability to execute and see the enterprise through.

How can a business attain resilience? I will mention just three points. And here I speak not as an entrepreneur, but as a corporate lawyer who has seen and helped businesses start and unfortunately acting as an undertaker when some fold up. The results of the post-mortems are usually similar.

So the first point is understanding the market. And that is true whether it is a business, professional practice or even a civil society organization. Do the research and hard work to understand the market and keep doing more research even when the business is doing well. Let’s take the example of two enterprises, publishing and restaurants. A very successful lawyer, a lady, wanted to start a monthly magazine. I think it was a Christian lifestyle magazine. She said she had prayed about it and was convinced it was God’s will. I asked her to study the market carefully. I have seen many magazines start well and then fail.

She said she was convinced that if she printed 10,000 copies of the maiden edition, she could sell at least 5000 in a month, and she could break even after selling 3,000 copies, after all, according to her, there were at least a million Christians in Lagos alone. And from the proceeds of the first edition, she could print the next edition.

She printed the ten thousand copies but she could barely sell 200 copies after almost six weeks. She struggled from month to month barely able to sell 500 copies. Within a year, she packed it up.

Dreamed, dared, failed. What does the research show? On average, studies show that between 50 to 60% of magazine publishing companies fail within the first 5 years of starting. Why? It is not a spiritual matter, the empirical evidence from industry data suggests that failure is largely due to the challenges of competing in a saturated market, the rise of digital media, and shifting consumer habits. Digital media has made it difficult for print magazines to be profitable, especially as advertisers tend to prefer online platforms.

So failure doesn’t necessarily mean God is not behind it, or you didn’t pray and fast enough, it is usually a function of the preparations you have made to surmount market and environmental challenges.

How about restaurants? It’s easy to imagine that in a city of 20 million people, you should be able to find 1000 customers a day. Industry data shows that the most frequent causes of failure are poor location, undercapitalization, high operating costs, thin profit margins, inconsistent food quality or service, inexperienced or poor management, workforce issues, etc.

My second point is a strong work ethic, including the discipline for delayed gratification. Why do Lebanese-owned restaurants do so well and last so long? Strong work ethic! They are always at their business from start to end of the day! Several of those restaurants have been around for upwards of thirty years. Double Four in Lagos has been here since the 90s and City View in Abuja.

On delayed gratification, this is an issue I think we should talk about a bit more, how trying to keep up an image of affluence affects a major plank of business success. The lifestyle of the business owner is a problem for Nigerian businesses. There is huge pressure on a Nigerian business person which probably doesn’t exist elsewhere, to maintain a perception of success that is usually above the means of the business.

There is pressure to look and spend as though you are very successful, even when your business is barely a few years old, and the pressure is worsened by the unrealistic lifestyles of allegedly successful people on social media, and also an environment where most wealth is unexplained or unexplainable, and where so many are rich before becoming business persons.

Consequently, every CEO of even a middle cadre enterprise, feels the need to buy the best cars, the same cars that the richest man in Africa rides in. She or he must travel first class or business class, so a lot of investable resources are spent on maintaining appearances. I was speaking to my daughter who runs a clothing store, we were looking at her turnover and profit and she said to me, “Dad I am a CEO, but I can’t go business class to London twice a year.” My son, who is a developer, has the same experience, he says, “I can indulge in one or two luxurious items because I am not yet married but it isn’t easy.” My responses to them were “Your businesses are about 5 years old, too early to live large. Nobody travels and lives like a Nigerian business person and succeeds. You will not find a Japanese designer or small business owner travelling business class let alone first class.” Delayed gratification. The moral of the story is that to see your business successfully through and not become frustrated or discouraged, you have to ignore the noise and chatter, the pressure to look successful when you can’t afford it.

My last but one point is technology. No matter what your business is, technology, especially Artificial intelligence (AI), is going to affect it dramatically for good or ill. And if you are an employee, particularly a well-paid one, you must ask yourself how can I prepare myself to take advantage of AI or let AI throw you out of work?

Even 2 years ago, the threat was nowhere near as dire as it is today. Last year, I sat at a meeting with some of the new members of the management of my former law firm and they were telling me of the prospects of their new AI interface. I simply couldn’t believe how AI has simply consumed huge aspects of what the firm does and is able to do, from research to brief writing and legal drafting, analysis of contracts and writing of opinions, and is able to do this using our firm’s house style and standards! I spoke to the umbrella body of land surveyors a few weeks ago and we were all struck by how AI is redefining land surveying almost beyond recognition.

In medicine, AI models now analyze X-rays, MRIs, and CT scans, with greater accuracy than human radiologists. Even mental health screening is being done with superior results by AI. At the current phenomenal rate of improvement in AI, big data and quantum computing, there is no aspect of human life and livelihood that will not be affected. Today, it would be a grave mistake not to do a detailed profile of how AI will impact your business and how you can take optimal advantage to develop your business.

Finally, may I challenge you as business persons to go beyond profit, and collaborate with others. To be ultimately impactful, a business person has to see the bigger picture. Every business has an ecosystem, and that ecosystem has to be strengthened otherwise each individual business is threatened, especially by government policies or laws. A strong ecosystem can be an effective lobby against laws or policies that would adversely affect businesses in the sector that you are a part of.

There is safety and clout in numbers, be an active member of your trade or professional or business association. The one thing politicians respect, whether in the legislature or executive, is numbers, protect your business by joining others. And ensure that the organization has a voice in policy formulation.

I would like to see WIMBIZ write an annual report on the business environment for SMEs, including issues of inclusivity and women’s participation, to be submitted to the Honourable Ministers of Industry, Trade and Investment and Finance before the Finance Bill and Budget are passed every year. That WIMBIZ report will become an important reference for the business reforms you want to see.

Let me conclude by congratulating you all again on your 23rd Anniversary. I wish WIMBIZ and its members many more years of marvellous success.